HYDERABAD l saturday l February 28, 2026 l `9.00 l PAGES 18 l late cITY EDITION pakistan says it is in ‘open war’ against neighbour afghanistan Pak army claims it killed 274 taliban men Pakistan bombed major cities in Afghanistan on Friday, and said the neighbours are in “open war” following months of tit-for-tat clashes | P11 Mast Qalandar vs ‘reaching their collar’ Pakistan Army spokesperson Lt Gen Ahmad Sharif Chaudhry said his forces “killed 274 Taliban personnel, while 400 were injured”. Twelve Pakistani soldiers were killed, while 27 others injured, he added. AFP journalists heard shellfire and gunfire in Torkham, with Afghan soldiers heading towards the frontier after overnight bombardment by Pakistan ■ ■ “Our patience has run out. Now it will be Dama Dam Mast Qalandar,” Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif said in a post on X However, Taliban govt spokesman Mujahid said the recent strikes were intended to send a clear message that “our hand can reach their collar.” He claimed Taliban had seized 19 Pakistani military posts 55 pakistani soldiers killed in latest round of attacks, says taliban CHENNAI ■ MADURAI ■ VIJAYAWADA ■ BENGALURU ■ KOCHI ■ HYDERABAD ■ VISAKHAPATNAM ■ COIMBATORE ■ KOZHIKODE ■ THIRUVANANTHAPURAM ■ BELAGAVI ■ BHUBANESWAR ■ SHIVAMOgGA ■ MANGALURU ■ TIRUPATI ■ TIRUCHY ■ TIRUNELVELI ■ SAMBALPUR ■ HUBBALLI ■ DHARMAPURI ■ KOTTAYAM ■ KANNUR ■ VILLUPURAM ■ KOLLAM ■ TADEPALLIGUDEM ■ NAGAPATTINAM ■ THRISSUR ■ KALABURAGI Kejri, others let off in excise scam GDP projected to Special judge Jitendra Singh raps CBI for procedural lapses, refuses to put accused on trial U D AYA N K IS H O R E @ New Delhi E x p r e s s Re a d Doll demonstration helps convict rapist Hyderabad: A 16-year-old rape survivor, unable to fully articulate her ordeal in words, demonstrated the assault on a doll during the investigation — a step that became central to the conviction of a 30-year-old man by a district court in Vikarabad. The court sentenced Athwelli Narender to 20 years’ rigorous imprisonment for raping the girl | P5 CBI hands over remains of Ayesha Meera to kin Vijayawada: CBI officials on Friday handed over the mortal remains of B-Pharmacy student Ayesha Meera to her grieving parents at a court in Vijayawada for burial. The development followed the court’s acceptance of the CBI’s closure report in the case. Acting on the court’s directions, the agency returned Ayesha’s remains, which had been exhumed in 2019 | P7 A Delhi court on Friday discharged former chief minister Arvind Kejriwal and 22 others, including deputy CM Manish Sisodia and ex-BRS leader K Kavitha, in the alleged excise scam, finding it unworthy of trial as it junked the CBI chargesheet. Hours later, the CBI moved the Delhi High Court challenging the trial court order. Trial court special judge Jitendra Singh also pulled up the CBI for procedural lapses, violation of constitutional principles and relying on hearsay evidence. He also found the ‘South Group’ label for the excise policy accused particularly inappropriate, adding he will recommend a departmental inquiry against the investigating officer of the case. “Prosecution case, as presented in the chargesheet, rests largely on surmises, conjectures, and inferential leaps unsupported by cogent material,” the judge said. Singh said that the policy was the outcome of a structured gov- ernmental process involving multiple departments, expert committees and cabinet-level approvals, and the decisions, even if later withdrawn or criticised, “cannot by themselves give rise to criminal liability unless supported by clear evidence of quid pro quo, personal gain, or misuse of office”. Prosecution case does not disclose even the threshold of prima facie suspicion, far less the “grave suspicion” mandated by settled principles of criminal jurisprudence, the court said. Observing that the judicial task was not to secure a convenient outcome or to endorse a dominant narrative, but to uphold the rule of law, the judge refused to put the accused on trial. The judge rejected the charge that Kejriwal as the then CM exercised overarching control over the conspiracy relating to the formulation and implementation of the excise policy say, ing the only principal material relied upon to implicate him was the statement of approver, which was “without any independent corroboration”. ‘Vindicated’, Kavitha questions KCR silence E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Hyderabad Describing the case as politically motivated and the verdict as a complete vindication of her stand, Telangana Jagruthi president K Kavitha on Friday questioned the silence of senior BRS leadership, including former chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, at the time of her arrest in the Delhi excise policy case, shortly after a court dismissed the case and cleared all the accused. “Why was there no press conference? Why was I left to face political witch-hunt alone? Why was even basic social media support missing?” she asked, adding that the silence of the BRS leadership at that time allowed a free hand to the BJP to implement its “vindictive and misogynistic agenda”. Speaking to the media after meeting representatives of the Farmers Commission at BRKR Bhavan, Kavitha thanked the judiciary stating that the court , had found even the core argu- CPI(Maoist) leaders Tipiri Thirupathi alias Devji, Malla Raji Reddy alias Sangram, Pulluri Prasad Rao alias Chandranna and others meet Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy at the Secretariat on Friday days after they surrendered Today’s Match 7pm: Pakistan vs Sri Lanka (Pallekele) Violence is no solution: CM to ex-Maoists E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Hyderabad Chilkur Balaji temple former chief priest MV Soundara Rajan passes away due to ill health on Friday. He was 90. The chief minister offered condolences | P2 Recently surrendered leaders of the banned CPI (Maoist) met Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy at the Secretariat on Friday, following a request from them. During a face-to-face interaction, Revanth congratulated the former Maoists for choosing the democratic path. “Violence cannot provide a permanent solution to any problem and people’s aspirations can be fulfilled only through democratic means,” he said, according to a release from the DGP’s office. The delegation sought en- hancement of relief and rehabilitation packages for surrendered cadres on par with neighbouring states. The chief minister assured adequate security and rehabilitation benefits, and support for their reintegration. Those present included Tipiri Thirupathi alias Devji (PBM, CCM), Malla Raji Reddy alias Sangram (CCM), Pulluri Prasad Rao alias Chandranna (SCM), Pothula Padmavathi alias Kalpana (CCM), Telangana State Committee secretary Bade Chokka Rao alias Damodar, and Nune Narsimha Reddy alias Ganganna (SCM). Senior officials were present. 591 Naxals surrendered in 2 yrs: DGP DGP B Shivadhar Reddy told Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy that 591 Maoists across the state surrendered during the last two years due to the coordinated efforts by the state police and the rehabilitation policies of the the state government ‘extra-marital affair’ Just before polls, Vijay’s wife calls it quits P r a b haka r Ta m i la r a s u @ Chennai SANKGEETHA Vijay, wife of actorpolitician and Tamizhaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) leader Vijay Chandrasekar, has filed a divorce petition before the Chengalpattu court alleging cruelty and adultery The family . court has summoned Vijay to appear before it on April 20. Sankgeetha accused her husband of having an extra-marital relationship with an actress and that he has subjected her to “persistent mental cruelty neglect and desertion”. , If required, she said she would implead the actress as second respondent. She urged the court to hold incamera proceedings to protect the privacy and dignity of the parties and their children. On December 3 last, Sankgeetha filed the petition before the Principal District Judge Court, Chengalpattu, under provisions of the Special Marriage Act, 1954. The petition was transferred to the family court on February 24. After Vijay Sankgeetha ‘Withdrew emotionally, distanced himself’ In her petition, Sankgeetha alleged that Vijay “gradually withdrew emotionally, distanced himself from conjugal life and excluded her from his social and professional engagements” the first hearing in the case on Thursday, the family court adjourned the matter to April 20 and directed Vijay to appear in person. In her petition, Sankgeetha said the marriage was first registered in the UK on July 10, 1998, and later solemnised according to Hindu rites in Chennai on August 25, 1999. The petition stated that the marriage was initially cordial and that she devoted herself to family life and raising their children while supporting Vijay’s professional commitments. However, she alleged that in April 2021 she discovered that Vijay was involved in an adulterous relationship with an actress, which caused “deep emotional pain and mental suffering”. Despite assurances that the relationship would end, she claimed their association continued. Sankgeetha also contended that attempts to resolve the dispute amicably through legal notices and personal discussions between 2021 and 2025 failed. She alleged that financial restrictions were imposed on her and that the marital relationship had irretrievably broken down. Seeking dissolution of marriage, she has requested permanent alimony residence at the matrimonial home , or an equivalent accommodation. grow 7.6% in FY26 under new series P U S H PITA D E Y @ New Delhi THE Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation on Friday released a new series of annual and quarterly National Accounts with 2022-23 as the base year, replacing the 2011-12 series, and raised India’s real GDP growth estimate for FY26 to 7.6% from 7.4% projected earlier. Quarterly data showed that real GDP growth in Q3 of 2025-26 eased to 7.8% from 8.4% in Q2. In the corresponding year-ago period, the Old Revised economy recorded 8% growth. Real GDP growth (%) Chief Economic Advisor V Anantha Nageswaran said that given the revised data, strong Q3 performance, and an improving outlook for capital flows and trade frameworks, FY27 real GDP FY24 FY25 FY26 growth projection was revised upNominal GDP growth (%) ward from 6.8-7.2% range to 7-7.4% with upward risk. The CEA added that with full-year growth estimated at 7.6% for FY26, the economy would need to expand by over 7.8% in Q4 to meet the projection. The base year revision aims to FY24 FY25 FY26 better capture structural changes in the economy, incorporate new data sources, refine estimation methodologies, and enhance coverage and accuracy . MoSPI Secretary Saurabh Garg highlighted the adoption of double deflation in the new series. “Earlier, single deflation methods were used in several sectors. Now, double deflation has been implemented in agriculture and manufacturing. This means more accurate measurement of real value added.” Old Vs New Series 9.2 7.2 6.5 7.1 7.4 7.6 Former MLC K Kavitha pumps her fist in the air as she celebrates the court verdict | Sri Loganathan Velmurugan ments of the prosecution to be without basis. “From day one, I said this was a false case and that I would come out clean. Today the ver, dict has proven the truth beyond doubt,” she said. She, however, said the acquittal did not undo the personal cost of her incarceration for over five months.  continued on P4 11 12 9.8 9.7 8 8.6